Speechless: review & giveaway

I was not going to read this book. I promise you, I was not. I was so fully aware of my (standing) disappointment with Harrington’s debut Saving June, and was certain I had a firm grasp of her writing style that I had prematurely made up my mind.

Well. Sometimes people act like snobs, okay. It’s not a crime. It just makes you highly unlikeable as a human being.

Anyway. I requested this on NetGalley and as fate would have it, I got approved. It was there for my taking. And then all these reviews were popping up, giving Speechless four stars, five stars! Scoff, I say! But. But they’re not entirely, completely, like totally wrong, like they’re kind of right because it’s really not that bad omg I’m giving this four stars!

I really, really liked Speechless. Harrington’s growth as a writer is monumental. One aspect I absolutely did not enjoy in Saving June was the constant, irrepressible presence of the writer. I could only hear her, instead of her characters. Which would’ve been fine, if it were a memoir. Here, Harrington’s commentaries are alive and well, but are much more digestably subtle. She covers a vast ground of topics from typical teenage woes, to much more serious issues plaguing pop culture.

The way that she’s done it this time is effective — allowing us entry through a single perspective, Chelsea. In Saving June, multiple characters tackled specific opinions and it became too much, too tedious. Now, we see everything through one character…whose voice is so perfectly captured, it was ridiculously readable. Here is the biggest contradiction of all. In Saving June, my entire review hung on my aversive attitude towards first-person narrative. Oh, but not here. I could read Chelsea all day. And I did. Her voice is young yet contemplative, privately honest, genuinely snarky, brutally fierce. I loved her. She admitted and accepted about herself so many things that go through our own heads on a daily basis.

She makes no excuse. She is sometimes selfish, sometimes generous. Sometimes emo, sometimes compassionate. Sometimes dense, sometimes perceptive. Sometimes dull, sometimes cool. Sometimes rude, sometimes kind. Sometimes skeptical, sometimes optimistic, sometimes weak, sometimes strong. And more. Chelsea was unlikeable in the beginning, but darn did she grow on me. She isn’t a bitch. Rather, an energy misguided. She has bite but she doesn’t know where to aim. She is a genuine outspoken, stand-up-for-herself, no-bullshit kinda gal. Not Harrington’s version of sweet, innocent female protagonists who “don’t believe in themselves” until a gorgeous young boy swoops in and convinces them otherwise. Chelsea knows she’s got stuff going for her. But thankfully, her ego isn’t so big as to stunt character growth.

Now, the secondary characters. I loved Sam, Asha and the whole gang. But I’d hoped we’d have gotten more insight into them than we did. We know close to nothing about Sam and Asha’s personal lives. Did Sam have other friends? Does he have siblings? Why is he so darn cute and nice? How does Asha feel when racial jokes are thrown at her expense? How does she handle being called a freak? How does she see the good when there is so much bad? These characters were wonderful to have in the scene but I almost wanted to follow them on when they walked out. How did they get to be how they are? One exception, though, is Andy. One particular scene with Chelsea coloured his entire being all shades of beautiful. It was lovely.

Kristen, on the other hand, I was glad not to have had more out of. Why? Because that’s the point, I think. She’s not supposed to grow. She is the foil to Chelsea. Kristen is a tragic character because while she knows the truth about herself, as Chelsea accepts the truth about herself, Kristen isn’t strong enough to brave it out like Chelsea is. She denies herself freedom. Chelsea unleashes herself from chains. That’s the difference.

This was a surprise. A surprise I couldn’t get my hands off of, according to Goodreads, from August 13-16. Those were great days…yea.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This review also appears on Goodreads. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

Win a Speechless ARC!

That’s right, we have another international giveaway for our readers. Thanks to our friends at Harlequin Teen, you can win an Advance Readers Copy simply by filling out the Rafflecopter form and leaving a comment. Remember, you can earn extra entries by sharing the contest on Facebook, pinning it on Pinterest, tweeting daily, etc. Good luck!

I try not to live in regret because life is too short to always be looking backwards. That said, I do regret a very simple mistake I made when I was a young girl. I didn’t trust my best friend with something. My best friend was one of those beautiful girls who I couldn’t understand at times why she was my best friend, but she was. And I didn’t trust her about something involving a boy because I was worried she would take his attention away. I should have never been worried. My best friend is like a sister to me even today (more than ten years later) but even today at times she will bring up what happened. It could have broken up a friendship. She is my family and I knew that even then and let my jealousy get the better of me. I wish I could take that mistake back and erase that blight on our friendship.

There are many things I regret, I admit. Ones that are way too personal to get into detail here (sorry for that). Others were a very long time ago, and so I do not really remember the details. Although people have told me countless times I should not feel regret, I still do. I always will, and that’s the downside of it I guess. You carry this guilt around with you forever, never really letting it go. Sure as time passes it gets a bit easier to carry around, but it will never truly be gone. Under all the smiles, it the guilt and regret I will feel everyday for the rest of my life, and I’m sorry to say that I can’t change it. If I could, I would 100%. But unfortunately that’s not how life works. I’m sorry if this is a long comment, but well I tend to explain myself a lot, even though I don’t really. Speechless would be a book that I would be so willing to read, and I can’t wait for the day that I can dive into this story!

What’s interesting me about your review, though, is that I adored Saving June. It’s an all time favorite. Yet I can see what you mean… as much as I ADORED SJ, I can see some of the elements that, while I loved, could very much seem an intrusion of the author’s voice, and not Harper’s…

BUT. You know when you adore a book so very much, and so swept up, you just don’t care? That’d be me :P

BUT YES YES YES to EVERYTHING about Speechless. Hannah’s grown as a writer, and… I really felt she did an extraordinary job at conveying a message–and I TOTALLY think this is a ‘message’ book–while never being heavy handed?

When I read the blurb, I was immediately interested. I’ve been looking for blind/deaf/mute fiction for a while now, and even though this is just a vow of silence, it still intrigues me. Then all the five-star reviews started showing up and now I just have to have it!

I always regret my road rage when I drive, especially because I’m so mild mannered most of the time! Whenever I drive too fast in construction zones, curse in traffic, and get pissed at other people, I always feel bad afterward. This book sounds right up my alley, and you did an excellent review!

I’m a quiet, sensitive person, but there’s something in me who turns into a complete jerk when I drive. I tend to drive too fast in construction zones, get furious in traffic, and hate when people cut me off. I always regret my actions afterward, and should probably practice calming breaths the next time I get upset! This sounds like my kind of book :)

I had always regretted the way in which I broke up with my boyfriend in college. We were off and on again for two years and when I finally broke it off, I didn’t do it in the way I had hoped. It’s unfortunate because I was simply too immature and self-involved then. It may not have worked out in the end, but I had always hoped to give the relationship its due course.

Mmm…I always regretted breaking up with a boyfriend in college the way that I did. I was too immature and self-involved to give the relationship its much deserved course. It might not have worked out in the end anyway, but I had always hoped to leave off on good terms.

Hahaha, I love this. “Well. Sometimes people act like snobs, okay. It’s not a crime. It just makes you highly unlikeable as a human being. “

That pretty much describes me all the time. There are a fair number of books I’ve gone into expecting to hate them and judge them, but ended up loving. Of course, the reverse is also true, but still. I’ll be reading this someday in the near future and am glad to know that it comes snob-approved.

So glad to see you enjoyed this K. I loved Saving June just a little more than this but this was excellent, IMO too. I would’ve love to know more about Sam, too. Great review and thanks for the giveaway! I read this off of Netgalley so I’d love to have my very own copy. :)

K, I just finished this one today and I feel like your review pretty much covered all my thoughts. Chelsea really does sound like a teen and I loved that she was such a multifaceted character. I too wish we could have gotten to know more about the personal lives of her new friends though.

I think I can connect to Chelsea a bit since I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, especially when I was young and on gossip. I would immediately regret what I said afterwords. I took my own “vow of silence” or something like that, but I didn’t last a week. At least now I can control my words more.

I think I can connect a bit to Chelsea. I blab a lot of gossip sometimes, especially when I was younger, and would always come to regret it afterwords. I took my own “vow of silence” or something like that before, but I didn’t last a week. At least now I have better control of what I say.

I am very much looking forward to Speechless. What a vow to take. I have made so many mistakes in my 30 years, and I wish that I had done something so extreme in certain situations, to try and atone for it. I can’t wait to see the events that caused her to make her choice, and the good and bad things that come from it. There are repercussions for everything, so I am sure she will face some. Thanks so much for the chance to win. This is one I have been looking forward to.

I regret about lending my books to ‘friends’ who dont appreciate them as I do. / I’m really excited to read Speachless since my best friend had the chance to read it!! And i’m driving myself crazy because I haven’t had the chance! Lol! Thank you for the giveaway! (Ileana-rafflecopter)

Ahhh, what a gorgeous review. Unlike you I liked Saving June (a lot actually) but Speechless is a whole new ball game. Harrington reminds me of Kody Keplinger, able to take the most unlikable of characters and over the course of the book somehow make me LOVE them. Like magic. Or REALLY adept writing:)

Lovely review! Chelsea sounds like an interesting character, and I like the fact that you said she was unlikable in the beginning but that changed as the story progressed. I love when there is tremendous character growth in a book!

I’m very excited to read this book because it sounds like a unique and well-written story!

Yes I’ve done things I’ve regretted with my 17 yrs in this world. There is one wherein I could be the cause of my cousin going in a jail and it’s just because of my laziness. I don’t want to go to my parents and ask for help ‘coz that cousin was drunk that day and he was punching a guy.:((

So much things have been said about this and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I can’t really think of a ‘major’ event where I regretted something. But it usually have something to do with me not speaking my mind. Sometimes, I regret not sticking up for others, choosing to stay silent instead.

Well, there are a lot of things that I wish I could take back. Those ,”What have I done” moments really brought some revelation to me so I change my ways. Let’s just say that I hurt people are round me and worse hurt myself. I did go to a good christian counseling group that help me back on my feet.

Oh, I’m really glad that things have or are working out for you. I always find so courageous when people accept difficult things about themselves and do something about it. Thank you for sharing, Savannah.

Beautiful review, K! I’m glad you read this even though you weren’t planning on it. ;) The more I think about it, the more I realise that enjoyed this more than Saving June, though I did like them both a lot. Your points on Chelsea are brilliant! I completely agree with your review. :)

This was actually my first Harrington read, and I’ve heard many people complain that it “was no Saving June, but still really good”. It’s nice to hear the flip side! I try to live without regret, but I was most definitely not the nicest girl in high school – I’d like to go back and give my younger self a kick in the ass, so she would stand up for those being bullied instead of watching from the sidelines, thinking like Chelsea, that if I didn’t participate I was doing no wrong.

Def. wanting to read this book, because it sounds super good. I haven’t read Saving June and I think I never heard of it. I probably live under a rock, lol, but I def. think this book is going to be a great introduction to Hannah Harringtons writing.

I, for one, thought Saving June was pretty good so I wouldn’t hesitate to read more by Harrington, including Speechless. It just sounds so good. For some reason I’m thinking the lack of a splashy cover means the contents will be fantastic.

This is one of the best novel I’ve read this year. Chelsea’s growth as a character was amazing and the message of this book was without a doubt very important and meaningful. Lovely review, K! I’m so glad you read and really liked this one. :D

I think we’ve all been book snobs at one time or another. I put off reading True Grit for ten years, because I didn’t like westerns. But isn’t it lovely when you try a book and it isn’t bad at all, in fact, it’s really good? And also, I really love reading an author who becomes stronger with each published book.

I didn’t like Saving June as much as some of my friends did, but I love seeing the growth from a book debut to a second novel. I feel like it tells you so much about where they’re going to go, and that’s why I want to read Speechless.